Phantom Thief Lucifer
by Kinsdura
Summary: Kurapika tries to catch the Phantom Thief Lucifer again and it doesn't go quite as planned, leading up to a series of ridiculous challenges and unexpected circumstances to arise.
1. Encounter

_This was fun to make up, hope I get to continue it in the future when I have time!_

* * *

Police cars surrounded the museum as they awaited for the designated time on the card to strike, cops standing around checking that everything was ready for that night.

"Eleven thirty-five, huh?" Kurapika mumbled to himself, holding the advance notice the owner of the building had received this morning. Kurapika gritted his teeth. This wasn't the first time he had to deal with a case like this. The ever elusive phantom thief that went by the name of Lucifer had decided to make his next target a painting located on the third floor of the museum, which was currently being guarded by the supposed best of the best in the area. Kurapika knew somewhere in the back of his head that they wouldn't be enough to stop the thief.

"Officer Kurta!"

Kurapika looked behind him to find Melody with two other police officers following her as they approached him.

"You've got permission to go into the building before the rest of us." she informed him, the other officers moving to take Kurapika's position at his police cruiser. After sharing a look with Melody, he nodded his thanks and ran off to the museum, grateful that she had done that for him.

Once inside and on the third floor, Kurapika was greeted by guards who let him through with a flash of his badge. He was halfway to the wanted treasure when all of the lights in the museum went out, the guards behind him shouting in alarm. Despite his temporary blindness, he wasted no time in sprinting to where the painting was.

He ran down a few hallways and then finally stopped in front of the last display case at the end of hall, the glass containing the wanted painting. He panted as he stared at it in a vague interest through the darkness. He knew he had seen this painting many times before in his own free time, but he had never really stopped to admire it, more interested in the artifacts around it. Now, however, he realized that this piece was just as important as the rest of the other displays in the museum and it wouldn't be the same without it.

"Pardon, but I do believe you are in my way."

Kurapika turned around to find a man in all black with the top of his face covered by his mask and the bottom of his face holding a teasing grin on his lips.

"Phantom Thief Lucifer."

"Officer Kurta."

They both stared at each other for a while, Kurapika listening intently on whether or not any guards would be coming, and Lucifer seeming to act like he had all the time in the world. After what seemed like forever, Kurapika raised an eyebrow at him.

"The guards?"

"Asleep." the phantom thief answered simply, flashing him a quick smile.

"Figured as much." Kurapika muttered under his breath, pulling out his batons from their place underneath his jacket.

Lucifer just watched as Kurapika got ready to attack, and dodged him when he gave a few swipes at the phantom thief's sides.

The hallway, being as narrow as it was, gave Kurapika little room to widen his attack range, but he managed to land a few blows onto the man in black. They went on like that for a while before they ended up in their original spots, staring each other down again.

Kurapika took a quick glance at his wristwatch to see that only five minutes had passed since he had reached the third floor.

"Impossible!" Kurapika breathed to himself, only to gain the full attention of the man in front of him. He needed to only delay Lucifer enough so that the police officers outside realized that there was something wrong, but it seemed way too long for them to not notice the lights going out like this…

"The police outside?" He heard himself ask, almost afraid of the answer that he would receive.

"I thought you'd never ask." Lucifer replied smoothly, his eye glinting in amusement. "They're asleep too."

Kurapika grit his teeth and could do little else when the phantom thief was suddenly in front of him, pushing him into the wall besides the glassed painting. He felt his batons get taken from him, hearing them get thrown far down the hallway and then clatter against the floor as they landed.

Lucifer regarded the blonde before him, eyes roaming over his features, the phantom thief's dark eyes having an odd glint in them that Kurapika couldn't place.

"You act like you've never seen me before." Kurapika said, trying to seem unfazed by the way he was being stared at.

Lucifer looked up at Kurapika and their eyes met for a split second before the phantom thief captured the blonde's lips in a kiss, grabbing onto his shoulders as Kurapika's eyes widened in shock. He felt his hands reach up and grab at the other man's coat, his eyes closing shut against his will.

Then he felt the other man's lips trail down to his jaw and kiss there as well and Kurapika tried his best to stop a moan from welling up in his throat, though he was unsuccessful when Lucifer went from kissing to sucking on the middle of his jawline. The moan came out loud and haughty as it echoed down the hall, both of them stopping what they were doing in surprise as Kurapika's eyes opened wide in horror at the noise that had emanated from him.

Lucifer pulled back from Kurapika and looked at him with a mixture of interest and concern, but before the blonde could comment on it, the thief turned down the hallway, walking past the batons on the floor that he had thrown down earlier.

"Wait, Lucifer! Weren't you here for the painting?" Kurapika called after him, mentally berating himself for possibly bringing the phantom thief's attention back to the artifact.

The dark haired man stopped at the end of the hall, turning to look back at the blonde officer with a smile.

"You're mistaken Officer Kurta, I got exactly what I came here for. And by the way, it's not Lucifer, it's Lucilfer."

And with that, the taller man disappeared, the lights in the building all turning on simultaneously. Looking back at the painting to make sure it was still there, Kurapika ran back to where he last saw the guards to check their pulses. After confirming that they were indeed just asleep, he began his report back to his department via phone call.

~.o.~

"Kurapika, listen to this! The head of the main department is here!" Melody told him excitedly, taking the papers he was writing from underneath his hands. "He came here to see you!"

Kurapika looked up at her, startled that she took his papers and also that he was being visited by anyone, nonetheless someone so important as the head of the police force.

He got up from his desk to see a large crowd surrounding a dark haired man who seemed to be trying to reach his office. Kurapika walked towards the crowd and Melody followed after him, both of them curious as to exactly why the dark haired man came to visit.

When they got close enough to the crowd, the man seemed to notice them and excused himself from the people around him, the group sadly dispersing when seeing that Kurapika was there. When they were mostly all gone, the dark haired man looked at him smiling.

"You're Kurapika correct? The one who single-handedly stopped the phantom thief from stealing the painting the other day?"

Kurapika felt himself blush at the exaggeration and mumbled "I suppose so." under his breath, earning him a laugh from the other man.

"Well it's nice to meet you Kurapika! I was originally going to send a congratulations letter but I felt like getting out of the main department today." He said, shrugging as if running off from his work was a typical thing he did.

Kurapika stared at him, then tilted his head, a feeling of nostalgia plaguing his thoughts. Had they already met before?

"What might your name be? I do believe I haven't caught it yet." the blonde asked instead, earning a gaping look from Melody (whom he assumed already knew the other's name) and an amused look from the police head.

"Chrollo Lucilfer." he replied, watching the blonde's face expectantly.

Kurapika immediately looked up at the taller man in shock, finally realizing why he felt like he knew him already. This man, the one in charge of all of the police forces in this country, was a phantom thief. He tried to think of something to do or say but was only thinking himself in circles.

Chrollo touched Kurapika's cheek, bringing the blonde out of his trance of thinking, and then brought his fingers down to his jawline and traced it from the back to the front of it, lifting the blonde's chin a bit higher when he got to the front so that he could make eye contact with him.

"I see you've healed well, or at least, are decent at cosmetics." Chrollo said lowly, enough that only Kurapika could hear him, the taller man winking when Kurapika's face heated up from the memory of seeing a hickey on his jaw that morning and having to apply makeup on it for it to not be visible at work.

"Well, I should probably return back to the office before they realized I left." Chrollo announced rather joyfully despite the change in mood, turning on his heel to walk out the front doors.

Melody looked like she wanted to ask what had happened, but refrained, trying to gauge the blonde's mental state. Kurapika clenched his jaw. This man was not going to get away with making a fool out of him.

"Lucifer!"

The police head stopped in surprise and turned to look at Kurapika, tilting his head in question.

"Lucifer, he will be caught." the blonde said with determination, despite his face still being flushed from embarrassment.

Chrollo only smiled mischievously, eyes glinting with the prospect of a challenge.

"I look forward to the day you do so Officer Kurta."


	2. Challenge

_Long time no see guys! As promised, I ended up writing more for this fic! Honestly, I'm really happy to come back and be able to update this again, it's been too long! It's gonna get **real** interesting from here on out, and even I don't really know where I'll go with it for a while! I plan on letting the characters do what they want at certain parts, so we'll see where that gets me!_

 _Anyway, I just want to say I'm happy to be back and I hope you enjoy~!_

* * *

Not even a week after Chrollo's visit, and Kurapika had been sent a notice from the head department that he was being promoted to be the head investigator for the Phantom Thief Lucifer case, complete and all with Chrollo's signature at the bottom approving the promotion. Kurapika gritted his teeth. He could basically feel the smug smile of the other through this paper, almost with the accompanied taunt of "Catch me if you can!" playing in the back of his head. Kurapika would have crumpled the paper in front of him had Melody not taken it from his hands to read it herself, looking at the letter in pleasant surprise.

"Kurapika! This is amazing! Do you know how much you'll be able to do with this?" she asked, folding the paper neatly back into the envelop it arrived in. The blonde shrugged.

"I don't care as long I can get that thief behind bars." he grumbled back, throwing a few more things into a cardboard box before deeming it full. Melody giggled.

"Well that's good. At least if anyone was having any doubts about connections being pulled here, your answer just proved you have no alternative motive!"

Kurapika raised an eyebrow at her, an amused smile on his lips now.

"Melody, are you suggesting that I would try to get a more stressful job through people with high positions?"

"Not for that reason, no. Maybe a higher paycheck?"

Kurapika laughed lightly, gaining weird looks from the two other people who were helping in packing up his office.

"That made my day Melody, thank you." he said, grabbing two boxes from his desk. "I hope they allow for you to come with me though. I'd be quite lonely without you." he admitted, bumping into her lightly on his way out of his old office. She bumped him back with her fist.

"Using your authority already?" she teased, grabbing a box of her own to follow him. He chuckled under his breath.

"Maybe."

They walked a while before they made it to his new office, setting down the boxes and unpacking them immediately when they got there.

"Is everything going alright in here?" he heard an unfamiliar voice ask, turning around to see a bald man leaning in to admire the mostly empty room at the moment.

"Who are you?" Melody asked, sparing Kurapika of having to ask himself.

"I'm Hanzo, I used to be the head investigator here but now I'm assigned to be working on the team underneath the new one. I'm guessing you're the gal leading us?" he asked, smiling at Melody. She put her hands up and waved them around in embarrassment.

"Oh no, I haven't even been approved to be promoted yet! Kurapika is the one leading the investigation team now!" she spilled out, pointing at the blonde who was watching them in amusement.

"Oh? Kurapika? I've heard that name…"

"I'm sure you have. He's the officer that stopped Phantom Thief Lucifer from stealing the painting a week ago!" Melody provided, puffing her chest out in pride.

"Oh! So you're the guy! Well nice to meet you Officer Kurta! Er, actually, Investigator Kurta now!" Hanzo said laughing, shaking at Kurapika's hand enthusiastically. Kurapika smiled politely.

"It's nice to meet you Hanzo, and Kurapika is fine. I'd like to get along well with this new team and despite formalities being a proper thing, for convenience in conversation while dealing with work, I'd like for it to be informal." he said, nodding respectfully when greeting the former head investigator.

"Well then Kurapika, you seem to know what you're doing! Ah, and while I would love to stay and chat, I've been tasked in gathering the rest of the team in a meeting room down the hall, so we can do more introductions over there in…" Hanzo checked his watch quickly then looked back at the blonde. "Ten minutes! Please try to be there if at all possible!"

Kurapika nodded, Hanzo waving a goodbye as he left the room. Melody glanced at the office clock she took out of her cardboard box.

"Do you think we have time to at least move everything in here before the meeting?" she asked, staring as the second hand kept ticking.

"Probably not. Let's just unpack what we have here and then go to the meeting." Kurapika said, smiling at her reassuringly. She smiled back.

"Okay."

They spent the remaining time getting things in order on the one bookshelf that had already arrived and setting the rest of the stuff that belonged on Kurapika's desk onto a side table. When the time was checked again twelve minutes had passed.

Melody alerted Kurapika of this and so he followed her out of his office and down the hall to his new team. When they got there, he was greeted by an odd assortment of people that he never would've assumed would be sitting around a conference table, not that he was complaining. He was odd enough himself.

"Oh, Kurapika! You made it!" Hanzo said, standing up from his seat. "You made it just on time actually, we were about to do introductions!"

The blonde nodded at Hanzo for the third time that day. He really should learn how to be more socially adept.

"Alright, well as you guys know, I'm Hanzo and I used to be the previous head investigator for the Phantom Thief Lucifer case, but this guy apparently has got what it takes more than I do!" the bald man laughed, his arms crossed as he did so. "Now introduce yourself!"

Kurapika raised a wary eyebrow and sighed. He needed to become less socially awkward and good at impromptu speeches.

"Hello, I'm Head Investigator Kurapika Kurta, though I would like if you'd just call me Kurapika for simplicity's sake." he said, bowing slightly to greet the others.

"That's an odd name, pretty though!" a young woman with mint green hair said, smiling at him. "My name is Ponzu, I'm a forensic specialist!" She then motioned to the young man sitting next to her with orange hair. "And this is Pokkle! He's a childhood friend of mine and he also happens to be a really good sniper!"

"Happens to be?" Pokkle asked her, playfully poking her in the shoulder. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing nothing!" she laughed, swatting his hand away.

Then Ponzu nudged the woman with bright red hair next to her, seeming to try and get her to join in on the conversation. The woman stayed quiet for a moment before taking off her sunglasses, staring intently at Kurapika before nodding her head in some type of odd approval.

"My names Siper. Trained as a sniper from the same place Pokkle was, but I graduated a few years earlier due to my talent."

Kurapika nodded, not really knowing what to say to that, but Siper turned her attention to Melody, smiling at her.

"Anyway, seems like there's another girl on the team. Who might you be?"

Melody stammered and glanced at Kurapika for help, though he was just as lost as her as far as what to do.

"I-I'm not sure if I'm on the team just yet, but I'm Melody. I'm from Kurapika's first police unit, so I've known him for a while." She looked down at her hands before looking back up, afraid of being rude to these nice new people. "I also specialize in world history, so given that the phantom thief goes after artifacts , I can probably help with possible targets?"

Some gave an approving nod at her reasoning, and Kurapika felt an odd sense of pride swell up in him.

"I'm sure the main office will see you as an asset Melody, so I'm sure it'll work out okay!" Ponzu said helpfully, making Melody smile.

"Your words are too kind. Thank you."

"No problem!" she said, sitting back down in her seat as Hanzo pulled out a large manilla folder.

"Alright, well now that we all know each other, it's time for the meeting to start." he said, giving an apologetic look to Kurapika. "And while I would let our new leader do this, he didn't really have these folders yet, so we'll debrief over them quickly before getting down to the new evidence."

The blonde shrugged, not caring either way as long as he could get back to finish cleaning and organizing his office by the end of the day so he could work properly tomorrow.

Hanzo smiled, then noticed Melody trying to back up out of the room.

"If you want, you can stay." Hanzo called at her, and she froze right next to Kurapika, seeming to have an internal debate before shaking her head.

"No I'm good. Maybe next time if I have the chance, but I have a lot of stuff to do." she said, bowing to everyone in the room quickly. "Thank you for your hospitality."

And then she was gone, and Kurapika suddenly realized how much at peace she had made him feel. He felt like bolting from the room as soon as he noticed this but paused when Hanzo spread out the contents of the manilla folder, some blurry pictures of the Phantom Thief Lucifer spilling out with some papers detailing the reports turned in on his robberies.

Kurapika immediately recognized it as Chrollo, but he said nothing, knowing that he couldn't go around making false accusations on the thief's identity without having proof. _So this is your game,_ Kurapika thought suddenly, miraculously holding back a smile and forcing his face into a neutral mask. He wanted him to gather evidence against his case? Well, he would gladly do so. He actually gave him an upper hand, letting him know who he was beforehand.

He looked up to see Hanzo studying him, as was Siper, Ponzu, and Pokkle. He looked at each of them questioningly, but no one gave an answer. Instead Hanzo cleared his throat and glanced at the files before shaking his head.

"You've probably actually seen these now that I think about it, but in the past his thefts have always been successful. I think," he said, looking really uncomfortable with his realization, "that you're the first one to stop one of his attempts."

Kurapika raised his eyebrows, but then it clicked for him too. Did he really? He couldn't have! It must've been a fluke!

He looked down at the papers in front of him, his eyes blurring a bit when he tried to concentrate on the dates labeling each attempt.

 **March 12th, ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL**

 **March 25th, ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL**

 **April 17th, ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL**

 **June 2nd, ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL**

 **June 29th, ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL**

 **July 14th, ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL**

The list went on like that, and Kurapika wet his lips, knowing that he wouldn't find one ATTEMPT FAILED, except for the one Hanzo placed in front of him. He was staring at his own report, and he didn't know why he was as surprised as he was.

He looked up at Hanzo, who was grinning at him.

"There's gotta be something important about you if you could do that. This report originally made me mad and question you but just by seeing you I can tell this is legit, and that _you_ are just amazing as people were talking about!"

"I-wait, what?!" Kurapika asked, taking a step back from the table at the sight of Hanzo's enthusiasm. "People have been saying that? I… I highly doubt that- and would you stop grinning like that?!"

Hanzo shook his head, still smiling at him.

"Nope! I decided I liked you the moment after I got over brooding and reread your report!" he said, crossing his arms. "Personally, I feel bad for hating you, even for that short moment, but I won't let it get in the way again. You're true for what you stand for, and I would follow you into battle without hesitation!" he said proudly, putting a fist to his chest and striking a dramatic pose. He got a small applause from Ponzu and Pokkle as Siper and Kurapika looked on; Siper seemingly used to his antics and Kurapika blankly staring at him and trying to think of something that would resemble a decent response to Hanzo's… proclamation of dedication?

"I'm… flattered… however I don't want yes-men. It'd be nice if you were to question me when you think necessary." Kurapika said, hoping he wasn't disappointing Hanzo by his statement.

The other man seemed to take it in stride, nodding.

"Yes yes, of course! Just as expected from you Supreme Leader Kurapika!"

"Whoa wait, Supreme Leader?"

"Supreme Leader Kurapika!" Pokkle joined in, raising a fist into the air.

"Supreme Leader Kurapika!" Ponzu also said, though she laughed as she did, which didn't make Kurapika feel less embarrassed about his random new title.

"No guys stop, don't do that! I'm not any type of Supreme Leader!"

"Only the true Supreme Leader would say that!" Pokkle said, smiling when the blonde gave him an unimpressed look at the trap he was setting up.

"Ah, I suppose you're right." Kurapika mused, taking the orange haired man by surprise. "But if I'm truly the Supreme Leader, doesn't that mean you'll do as I say?"

"Of course! Anything!" Ponzu answered for all of them, and Pokkle gaped at her response.

"Then as Supreme Leader, I hereby declare that there is no longer a Supreme Leader, and that I'm to be called Kurapika, is that clear?" he asked, his own smile forming as both Pokkle and Hanzo got a defeated look on their faces. Ponzu looked confused but was still trying to cheer up Pokkle, but when Kurapika looked over to Siper, she just smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. He figured that was the best response he could get out her and nodded in appreciation.

Just as he was about to get back to the topic of the meeting, Melody came bursting through the doors, panting and holding onto a piece of paper tightly.

"Kurapika! Kurapika you need to see this!" she exclaimed, running up to him and shoving the piece of paper as high as she could in the air to show to the blonde.

It took a bit of time for his eyes to adjust to the paper, but when it did, he felt his heart stop.

 **At 11pm, I will be stealing the Golden Vase of Articos from the Jokastle Museum of History.**

 **\- Phantom Thief Lucifer**

Kurapika couldn't help but smile slowly at the advanced notice he had received. Chrollo was testing him. He knew he wasn't ready, but that was the point. He wanted to see how well he could adjust with a new set of team members he's never worked with before. _Well then Lucilfer,_ Kurapika thought, taking the letter carefully as he turned to his team. _Let the games begin._


End file.
